How is the curriculum organised?

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How is the curriculum organised?

Let’s have a basic look at some of the important organizing elements of the AC: Design and Technology subject. Like many other Australian curriculum subjects, Design and Technology comprises of two interrelated strands. These are: Design and Technologies Knowledge and Understanding and Design and Technology Process and Production Skills. The accompanying table should help to develop your understanding of how they are related within the curriculum.

Take some time to explore the curriculum page yourself. However, as we have stated before, at the time this unit was written the technology subjects in the Australian Curriculum were in the final stage of being officially endorsed.

Knowledge and Understanding Processes and Production Skills
Technologies and society

  • the use, development and impact of technologies in people’s lives

Technologies contexts

  • technologies and design across a range of technologies contexts.
 Creating designed solutions by:

  • investigating
  • generating
  • producing
  • evaluating
  • collaborating and managing.
Curriculum organisation (Australian Curriculum Design & Technologies n.d.)
<http://bit.ly/1vQlShP>

Learning in Design and Technologies

In studying Design and Technology younger learners develop an awareness of the systematic process involved in the creation of products:

“Students learn about technologies and society through different technologies contexts (knowledge and understanding) as they create designed solutions (processes and production skills)” (ACARA, 2014).

It is important that students have and opportunity to engage in the design process:

“In Design and Technologies students are actively engaged in the processes of creating designed solutions for personal, domestic, commercial and global settings for sustainable and preferred futures” (ACARA, 2014).

There are two important components to teaching Design and Technology. These are Project Management and Design Thinking.

Project management

Project management develops student understanding of how to manage projects through to completion, this involves learning how to plan, organize, and monitor activities. Project management also includes considering constraints, assessing risks, and developing an understanding of the wider impact of the design solutions.

Design Thinking

Explaining the design process

Let’s spend some time exploring design thinking. This is the systematic approach to design that sequentially works through a process to arrive at a solution to an existing problem. To help you teach Design and Technology it is a good idea to have a strong understanding of the design process. The key point we hope you have gained from the introductory video is that when we talk about design, we are talking about an active and sequential practice. Watch Jonathan Ive in the video Design – Apple Mac (Sambaza2, 2011), Apple’s head industrial Designer who created the iPod, iMac, and iPhone, describe the design process.

Design – Apple Mac (2011) 
<http://bit.ly/1wlora9>

Let’s try and summarise the design process and its different component parts. The accompanying model sums up the design process into three stages. While more complex models exist, this conception of the design process will help you to teach design thinking to younger learners. The conceptual process of designing is succinctly summed up in this 3-stage model:

Why is digital literacy so important to today’s young learners?

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Week 3: Technology curricula in Australia

Design and Technology and Digital Technology

Last week we looked at the essential nature of technology in everyday life. This week we will look the two different technological areas of Design and Technology and Digital Technology.

Living in a world of Design and Technology

Design and Technology are present behind every human made environment. If you live in a town or city, just walking down your street you will find yourself surrounded by spaces and buildings that were designed and built using multiple forms of technology. Design and Technology shapes what we wear; what we eat; the objects that we use to move us from place to place.

The technology that you see around you is the physical realisation of the concepts and ideas created in the design process. These are the solutions that have been made to meet our particular purposes and needs. It is this design process that we will be exploring more fully over this week.  In particular we will explore the relationship between Design and Technology, and how they need to be seen as inseparably interlinked ideas

Let’s begin this week by watching the video What is design? produced by the UK Design Council (Lightweight Media, 2010). As you watch, think about this question: Why is it important to describe design as a verb?

Design Council: What is design? (2010)
<http://vimeo.com/5820010>

What is Digital Literacy?

Watch this short video on the concept of Digital Literacy. Being literate essentially means being competent in the use of a particular set of knowledge and skills. As we will explore this week, being digitally literate has become an increasingly important part of participating in our society.

As you watch the video What is digital literacy? (ITFutures, 2014), consider these two questions:

  • Why is digital literacy so important to today’s young learners?
  • What has changed to make digital literacy so important?

What is digital literacy (2014)
<http://bit.ly/1piYCSo>

The early decades of the 21st century have witnessed an incredible surge in interconnection and information sharing across the world, facilitated by advances in Internet and mobile technology. More people have access to more information than ever before, a trend that is predicted to grow exponentially into the foreseeable future. This wave of technological change has impacted all aspects of human existence; generating new ways of doing old tasks – the online learning that you are currently partaking in is just one somewhat obvious example.

As our lives become more and more intertwined with Digital Technology, access to the internet and information sharing has begun to be considered a basic right, similar to the way we think about access to food and water (United Nations General Assembly, 2011).

The impact on society resulting from these rapid technological changes has made learning about Digital Technology essential knowledge and skills. However, in order to fully participate in the future, younger learners require not only technical knowledge, but key transferable skills that make them adaptive to the changing future. This also necessitates that students develop critical reflective skills that help their awareness of the consequences of Digital Technology, empowering them to make more responsible choices about its use.

Please note The Australian Curriculum: Technologies area is yet to be formally endorsed and is currently available for States/Territories to begin the process of implementation. We realise that each state will be at very different stages of this process. However, regardless of your State or Territories progress, our goal has been to use the curriculum documentation to provide you with an understanding of age appropriate learning examples.

Let’s look at the technologies curricula in detail

Note that there are two tabs to Investigate each of the AC Technologies curricula this week.

Why is it important to study Design and Technology?

Learning about the importance of Design and Technology empowers young learners to have a greater understanding of the material world that they exist within.

“…the made world is a very significant part of life for most children and adults. Through D&T, children can begin to understand the made world and have well-founded confidence in dealing with issues in it “ (Newton, 2005, p.5).

Students also develop an appreciation of how Design and Technology create solutions to problems, and is a powerful tool to reshape the environments and objects that they use everyday.

What do Fleer & Jane mean by appropriate technology?

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Developing a critical perspective of the impact of technology?

Technology amplifies the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ aspects of human activity. At its ‘best’, new technology has enabled us to connect people and ideas across vast distances, explore the corners universe, and help to save lives through innovative new medicines and medical devices – to name but a few of its positive uses. At its worst, technology has also given us the power to destroy the planet multiples times over. While a lack of access to technology exacerbates inequality, raising questions about how technology is shared both locally and globally.

Part of learning about technology and its place in society in 21st century, is developing a critical perspective on how it is used and for what purposes. This is about developing a balanced view of what happens when technology is applied to the real world. This involves young learners developing a critical appreciation of technologies and its impact on people and the environment. Even at a primary school level it is possible to talk generally about issues associated with technology and the production of technological services and goods.

Using broad guiding questions can help young learners develop their awareness of technology’s impact on others. Teaching strategies should try to connect broader issues back to the lives of students. Useful guided questions might include:

  • What impact does this technology have on myself, on my family and friends, on other people in other countries?
  • How does this affect the world around me, and the environment I live in, and the environment other people live in?

 Readings

Read Technology is really a way of thinking, pp. 1-6, for further discussion by the ATSE (2004) on technology.

Also this week, read Chapter 1: The nature of technology and technological knowledge (Fleer & Jane, 2011, pp. 1-29).

Think about the following questions as you are reading:
  • What do Fleer & Jane mean by appropriate technology?
  • This reading is now a couple of years old – have there been any significant changes that are not addressed by this reading?
  • Have your understandings of technology changed after this week?

Technology is deeply intertwined with human history

By learning about and how to use technologies, connects young learners with an important human activity that is deeply intertwined with human history. Click the Demonstrate tab to work together to develop a timeline of contemporary, traditional and emerging technologies.

Week 2 reference page

Week 2

Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2013, February). Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Retrieved from http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Static/docs/Technologies/Draft{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20Australian{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20Curriculum{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20Technologies{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20-{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20February{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}202013.pdf

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). (2004). Technology is really a way of thinking.  Retrieved from http://www.atse.org.au/Documents/Publications/Reports/Education/ATSE{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20Technology{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20Education{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20A{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20Way{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20of{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}20Thinking{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}202004.pdf

Corning Incorporated. (2013, May 1). A Day Made of Glass Extended Montage (5-minute – 2013) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfgmlVxLC9w

Corning Incorporated. (2012, February 2). A Day Made of Glass 2: Same Day. Expanded Corning Vision (2012) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZkHpNnXLB0

Fleer M. & Jane, B. (2011). The nature of technology and technological knowledge. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Education.

Library of Congress. (2009, June 8). The History of Household Technology [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOo92Vu9PZo

Maintenance Technology. (2014). Possible, Probable, Preferred. Retrieved from http://www.maintenancetechnology.com/2001/10/possible-probable-preferred

Mobilegeeks. (2011, October 27). Microsoft’s Concept of How 2019 Will Look Like – Official Video [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwj2s_5e12U

University of California Museum of Paleontology. (2014). Fueling technology. Understanding Science.  Retrieved from http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/whathassciencedone_02

Images

Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2014). Creating solutions. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/rationale

What does the future hold for technology?

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Week 2 what is technology

Technology – a catalyst for social change

Over the next few weeks we examine the subject of technology and how it can be taught within a primary school context. Let’s first consider the broader concept of technology and why it is such an important part of our past, present and future lives.

The story of technology is the continual invention of new objects and materials in order to create solutions to our most basic problems. Flint stone knives were made to help us cut, while the wheel helped us transport heavy loads. Our ability to create and perfect the use of tools has been an integral part of human history for thousands of years. The list of historical changing technological inventions is extensive, including: the printing press, the combustion engine, and the silicon chip, to name but a few. Each wave of major technological change has become a catalyst for significant social change.

To see the impact of technological change on a familiar context, take a look at the The History of Household Technology (LibraryOfCongress, 2009) summarising how technology has changed domestic life over last 150 years.

As you watch the video, consider:

  • how the invention of household appliances created social change
  • why these inventions were solutions to social problems.

The introduction of new technology creates new opportunities and ways of thinking that are sometimes difficult to see beforehand. In our lifetime we have witnessed massive technological change through the exponential growth of the Internet and mobile communication. These have produced a new wave of social change that has led to the creation of new ways that we live and work.

Our role as educators

As educators, our role is to give our students the necessary skills that they will need in their future adult life, which includes the skills and knowledge that help them adapt to technological change. Becoming literate in the use of technology is an essential part of participating in the coming decades of the 21st century.

While having skills in using technology is very important, having a broader understanding of technology and its larger impact on the world will help students to ethically create their own preferred future; the future they would choose to see eventuate. We will look at this critical dimension in more detail in the last part of this week.

Before viewing the videos, A Day Made of Glass Extended Montage (5-minute – 2013) (Corning Incorporated, 2013), A Day Made of Glass 2: Same Day. Expanded Corning Vision (Corning Incorporated, 2012) and Microsoft’s Concept of How 2019 Will Look Like – Official Video(Mobilegeeks, 2011), consider the following:

  • What does the future hold for technology?
  • What might the adult lives of your student look like?
  • Why is it important to teach young children about technology?

Now take a look at the videos, as you imagine the not so distant future.

A life integrated with technology

In our introductory tab we have shown you a vision of the future as a high tech world of digital screens seamlessly integrated into every aspect of life. Now let’s try to develop a broader understanding of technology.

Which of the following items do you associate with technology?

Adapted from Fleer & Jane (2004, p.6)